WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--U.S. government leaders recently joined the National Association of Energy Service Companies (NAESCO) for its annual Federal Market Workshop to make one thing clear: there is a wealth of opportunity for Energy Services Companies (ESCOs) to leverage energy savings performance contracts (ESPCs) to support the Biden-Harris administration’s pursuit of net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions economy-wide by 2050.
Richard G. Kidd IV, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Environment & Energy Resilience, underscored the pervasiveness of the administration’s climate priorities on the first day of the workshop stating, “the DoD is treating the climate crisis as a national security priority, and we anticipate an increase in funding for more complex projects that bring together private and public sectors focusing on resilience.”
Proven pathways towards achieving these goals include retrofitting, upgrading and otherwise adapting the nation’s aging public building infrastructure to meet target energy efficiency, emissions and resilience performance outcomes.
“We host this event every year to better equip our federal partners with the tools, resources, and information they need to achieve our shared climate and resiliency goals. But this year is arguably the most important,” said NAESCO Executive Director Dr. Timothy D. Unruh. “Investment in our aging public infrastructure should be a priority as we emerge from the pandemic and fully reopen facilities. With the new administration’s focus on climate change, it’s crucial federal agencies continue to partner with ESCOs through ESPCs to work towards upgrading our mission-critical facilities for a more sustainable, resilient future.”
President of the Alliance to Save Energy Paula R. Glover echoed these comments stating, “There’s a broad consensus that critical facilities are clearly past due for investment. The 2021 Open Back Better Act, a provision of the recent climate package introduced by House Democrats, will fulfill that obvious need for investment by delivering billions of dollars in federal funding to retrofit public facilities to make them more resilient and energy efficient. The federal funding will be matched with performance contracting and other financing mechanisms to leverage almost $100 billion in private investment.”
Kelly Speakes-Backman, Acting Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) disclosed that EERE’s clean energy programs will need to benefit all Americans and American jobs.
“Our focus is building back better after the pandemic and creating jobs and economic activity is of the utmost importance,” said Speakes-Backman. “Additionally, we need to make investments in ensuring our energy system is equitable. Right now, minority communities feel the impacts of pollution and climate change the hardest, and lower income households face the highest-energy burden. Our programs will work to ensure all Americans have access to new technologies and a brighter, cleaner future.”
During the three-day virtual conference, prominent federal officials tasked with setting and implementing federal energy efficiency and infrastructure improvement measures discussed their respective organization’s energy efficiency priorities and continued efforts to meet climate goals. A full list of the 2021 Federal Market Workshop speakers includes:
- Kelly Speakes-Backman, Acting Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy
- Paula R. Glover, President, Alliance to Save Energy
- Richard G. Kidd IV, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Environment & Energy Resilience
- J.E. "Jack" Surash, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy & Sustainability, Department of the Army
- James Balocki, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Installations and Facilities, Department of the Navy
- Mark A. Correll, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety & Infrastructure, Department of the Air Force
- Leslie Nicholls, Director, Federal Energy Management Program, Department of Energy
- Catherine Johnson, Performance Contracting Team Lead, Energy Management Program Service, Department of Veterans Affairs
- Kevin Kampschroer, Director, Office of Federal High-Performance Buildings, General Services Administration
Learn more about NAESCO’s 2021 Federal Market Workshop by visiting www.naesco.org/past-events. And for more about NAESCO, its members, membership benefits and accreditation process at www.naesco.org and follow NAESCO on Twitter (@NaescoNews) and LinkedIn (@naesco).
About NAESCO
The National Association of Energy Service Companies (NAESCO) is the leading advocacy and accreditation organization for Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) and is dedicated to modernizing America’s building infrastructure through performance contracting. Uniting the energy service industry, NAESCO promotes favorable government policies; sponsors a rigorous accreditation program; provides training and education; and champions the interests of ESCOs across the nation.
ESCOs contract with private and public sector energy users to provide cost-effective energy efficiency retrofits across a wide spectrum of client facilities, from college campuses to water treatment plants. Effectively utilizing a performance-based contract business model, ESCOs have implemented more than $50 billion in comprehensive energy efficiency retrofit projects over the last three decades.
